April
It's April. Definitely April.
It's been a week of April showers.
The sort of weather when the warm sun entices you to sit out in the garden with a cup of tea. You put the kettle on but before the tea has had a chance to brew, the skies have darkened alarmingly, the wind whipped up and hail is lashing the windows.
Despite the capricious weather, I have been busy down on the lottie with general tidying and seed sowing.
The first seeds to be sown - always an exciting time - are:
French beans, runner beans and butternut squash, all in pots on the windowsill plus
beetroot and swiss chard direct into the soil on the allotment.
I imagine if you so wished you could grow lentils too, though they may not be as tasty as delicious Puy lentils, which owe their unique peppery flavour to the area of France in which they are grown.
My favourite way of eating lentils is with a simple dressing. Hugh Fearnley -Whittingstall has a recipe for dressed puy lentils in his Veg Everyday book.
The lentils are cooked in enough stock or water to cover them with the addition of a bay leaf, a couple of squashed garlic cloves and a few parsley stalks.
When tender, which takes about half an hour, the lentils are drained and the herbs and garlic discarded.
Just a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper completes the dish and served with dollops of goat's cheese, roasted squash and marinated kale it made a delicious supper.
The following day, I added the leftover lentils to some cooked pearled spelt, mixed salad leaves, chunks of cooked chicken and an asian style dressing made from
2tblsp soy sauce
1tblsp rice wine vinegar
1tblsp honey
1tblsp water
a squeeze of lemon juice
1tsp of grated fresh ginger and the same of fresh chilli
Are you, like me, hoping for more sunshine and less showers for the coming days?
Happy weekend.
annjenny x
The first seeds to be sown - always an exciting time - are:
French beans, runner beans and butternut squash, all in pots on the windowsill plus
beetroot and swiss chard direct into the soil on the allotment.
I imagine if you so wished you could grow lentils too, though they may not be as tasty as delicious Puy lentils, which owe their unique peppery flavour to the area of France in which they are grown.
My favourite way of eating lentils is with a simple dressing. Hugh Fearnley -Whittingstall has a recipe for dressed puy lentils in his Veg Everyday book.
The lentils are cooked in enough stock or water to cover them with the addition of a bay leaf, a couple of squashed garlic cloves and a few parsley stalks.
When tender, which takes about half an hour, the lentils are drained and the herbs and garlic discarded.
Just a simple dressing of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper completes the dish and served with dollops of goat's cheese, roasted squash and marinated kale it made a delicious supper.
The following day, I added the leftover lentils to some cooked pearled spelt, mixed salad leaves, chunks of cooked chicken and an asian style dressing made from
2tblsp soy sauce
1tblsp rice wine vinegar
1tblsp honey
1tblsp water
a squeeze of lemon juice
1tsp of grated fresh ginger and the same of fresh chilli
Are you, like me, hoping for more sunshine and less showers for the coming days?
Happy weekend.
annjenny x
Lovely recipes, thank you. I am inspired!
ReplyDeleteDo you take your own photographs? They are lovely :)
Jane
Thank you very much :) I'm glad I have inspired you. And yes, they are my own photos.
DeleteAnother inspirational post. The weather really has been awful this past week and the forecast is not looking much better.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the showers strangely enough. Bit of a pain if you've just put the washing out, but the air feels clean and fresh. And it's good to know that the seeds don't need to be watered.
ReplyDeleteLovely looking food. I could eat that now. My ankle injury means there's not much I can do in the kitchen and my husband is not really a cook so choices are going to limited over the next few weeks. Just realised I'm not going to get my vegetables planted this year either!
ReplyDeleteReally hope your ankle mends quickly.Shame about the veggies :( Hoping your injury doesn't impact too much on your new baking business.
DeleteThis sounds and looks delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
ReplyDeleteHave a good week!
Madelief
Those recipes all look delicious and so healthy! Sarah x
ReplyDelete